Inevitable Fate
by CatzRuleMe
Summary: Me-Mow has sought her revenge, which results in major repercussions. WARNING: Very sad.


A light growl of thunder rumbled across the sky, and the first few, gentle raindrops descended from the dark clouds above. The entire Candy Kingdom was gloomy and silent, and the threatening yet gentle weather made it appear as if even the sky was crying. After all, it seemed to come out of nowhere. Even Princess Bubblegum's highly-trained guards didn't see it coming. One split second turned everything from completely and utterly normal to purely shocking. It took everyone several moments to fully realize what had happened.

Before Finn knew it, he had stopped breathing. His shaky limbs reached out, unwilling, to touch Jake's now dark green fur. No movement, no breathing, not a single sign to show that he was okay. The others stood at a distance, frozen like statues and completely unsure about what to do; their train of thought had come to a complete standstill. Finn's heart had sped up from lack of oxygen, but he was terrified to breathe. He was scared of everything in that moment, for fear that something drastically bad might happen. He grabbed Jake and turned him over like a ragdoll. He was still, his expression frozen forever in fear and shock. Not one muscle in him moved, and his heart was silent. But he was still warm.

A tiny noise escaped Finn's throat: a small slither of noise in the otherwise mute room. It was a small whimpering noise, like that of an infant about to cry. It echoed off the walls, but in Finn's ears, he may have been listening to his own voice underwater. Nothing seemed right; everything felt as if it were breaking the very mold of proportion.

Finn leaned in and pressed his head to Jake's chest, searching desperately for the slightest, rhythmic beating. His breathing came in erratic spurts as hot tears escaped his eyes. Princess Bubblegum was the first to regain her senses and kneel beside Finn.

"Princess, I need an antidote!" Finn blurted out, violently shattering the tense silence that had befallen them.

"Wait…" The princess pressed her fingers to Jake's neck, measuring his pulse. Her constant repositioning of her fingers was not reassuring to Finn at all. She finally stood up and muttered exactly what Finn never wanted to hear.

"He's dead."

Finn's heart felt as if it had been thrown offbeat. His insides became hot, and his breathing sounded even less rational. He was on the brink of faint, but he couldn't now. He shook Jake's lifeless body; fat tears streamed down is face as he screamed for Jake, demanding him to wake up. When his friend didn't show any sign of life, he hugged the dog to his chest and turned, glaring at the princess.

"WHY WON'T YOU HELP HIM!" he demanded.

"Finn, there's nothing I can do," Bubblegum whispered sadly. "My decorpsinator serum doesn't work on dogs, and even if it did, that much poison would just kill him again and again."

"No…" Finn set Jake back on the floor and raised his hands to his face. "NO!"

Finn sprang to a stand. His brain was no longer functioning, and he was no longer thinking rationally. He grabbed a nearby chair and thrust it out the window with a source of strength he had never had in his lifetime. He screamed and continued to throw chairs and knock things over before Princess Bubblegum intervened.

"Finn, stop!" she barked, grabbing Finn's arms. She held him firmly but gently, understanding his rage but not letting him act upon it. "Finn, please…"

Finn's muscles relaxed in Bubblegum's grasp. His head slowly tilted toward the guards, who were examining Jake's body.

"Kill her," he growled, rousing their attention.

"Finn…" Bubblegum muttered.

"Find her…and kill her…" Finn said in merely a whisper, but it was intimidating and demanding enough that the guards ran for the door. Finn shivered violently and grabbed his hat, pulling it over his face. "I should have known this would happen…Me-Mow, she…she was mad at Jake. She tried to assassinate Wildberry Princess and—"

Bubblegum turned Finn around to face her. "Finn…none of us saw this coming. You mustn't blame yourself."

Finn shook his head and squirmed until he pulled free of the princess's grasp. He crawled back over to Jake and took him back in his arms. He was cold now, just like the room, the weather outside, and the desolation inside of him. Finn cried loudly uncontrollably, soaking his best friend's fur with his tears. He couldn't stop shaking, couldn't shake the feeling that a part of him had been violently ripped away from him. All he remembered at that moment was Jake's croak dream, and how that was how it was supposed to end. Jake was wrong…his dreams were wrong…he believed he would never lose Jake, and he had been horrifically wronged.

"_So I guess that wasn't a real croak dream after all," Jake said. "It didn't really come together quite right._

"_Yeah," Finn giggled as he lay exhausted on the cave floor._

_Jake became contemplative of what had happened. "Hey…so, wait. In the croak dream it was just me and Banana Man. But this time, you were here, too. So…it must be destined to happen again, when you're not around."_

_Finn smiled. "Well, in that case, I'll just have to never leave your side ever again for the rest of our lives." He chuckled, then proceeded to press his face to Jake's side._

"_What are you doing?" Jake asked._

"_I can never leave your side again for the rest of our lives," Finn repeated in a much creepier tone of voice._

"_Get off of me!" Jake said, running away._

_Finn proceeded to chase him down. They dodged stalagmites and nearly slipped of the slick cave floor. Eventually, they both ran out of breath and lay back down, giggling and gasping for air._

"_Okay, man," Jake said, smiling. "I guess you're right. But…isn't that what we were already doing?"_

"_What do you mean?" Finn asked._

"_I don't know," Jake said. "I always thought it was kind of obvious that we would stick together until one of us kicks the bucket. You don't have to make it sound all creepy."_

"_I wasn't trying to," Finn explained. "I just want to know you'll always be there for me." He paused for a moment before continuing. "You will always be there, right Jake? You'll be right here beside me when I'm on my deathbed, right?"_

_Jake smiled. "Of course I will."_


End file.
